


The Golden Sun And The Silver Moon

by somanyfamdomswhy



Category: RWBY
Genre: Abusive Father, Amputees, F/M, Support Group, Trauma, and other ships but theyre not important so, irdk what to put here sooo, there will probably be other characters too but thats all for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-03-11 05:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13517469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somanyfamdomswhy/pseuds/somanyfamdomswhy
Summary: "You know, I really love the sun. Its weird, I know, but it provides light and life to everything... It's just beautiful.""Well, I love the moon. Becuase of all the darkness in the sky, it shines brightly like no other."_After a terrible car accident, Yang is left with the trauma of losing her arm and the resentment toward a friend she once held dear. Mercury endures a living hell each day being tortured by his father, the reason his legs are metal. What could this support group do to help them? Or rather, what can they do to help each other?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was supposed to be for G&G week, buuut I got impatient. I'll probably still post a part for the week, but it'll be accompanied by the art I did while brainstorming. Hope you enjoy!

Yang had her head held lazily against the glass of her father’s passenger side car window. Taiyang Xiao Long, her father, continued to drive her to the local Amputee Support Group. It was her first time going, and to say she didn’t want to go was an understatement. She didn’t even want to look at her right side, much less, talk about it in front of other people. Breaking the silence in the car, her father interjects, “You know why I’m making you go to this, right?”

“Because my therapist said it would be good for me?” She half asks, not even looking at her father.

“No, Yang. In fact, I’m the one who suggested this to your therapist.”

Yang then looked up at her father, shooting him a confused look. Taiyang kept his eyes on the road, but kept talking to his daughter, “I want you to come because I want you to know you’re not alone. There are other people who struggle with the same stuff you do. Your sister and I… we love you deeply and support you. But, we can’t relate to you fully. Not even your therapist can, and she works with amputees daily. I’m making you come to this Amputee Support Group because I know these people will be able to give you something no one else can. These people are people you can relate to.”

Yang took a deep breath and sighed. She didn’t want to ignore her father, but she didn’t know what to say either. She simply continued to look outside as the rain poured into the glass of the car. Before she knew it, her father was pulling into a parking lot of an old library.

“This is the place,” Taiyang told her, putting the car in park. 

Yang looked at her father in desperation, as if one final plea not to make her go.

“I love you, kiddo. Take this umbrella, and I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour and a half.” He handed her a small yellow umbrella from inside his car door compartment, as she took it and nodded, “Alright, Dad. I love you too.” The two exchanged smiles, as she opened the car door to get into the old library. The library itself had closed down about a year ago, now It was just used as a meeting place for organizations, classes, and even amputee support groups. 

As Yang made her way into the building, it smelled of old lady and cats, though neither of these were able to be found anywhere. Yang looked at a paper sign made in scratchy handwriting that read, Amputee Support Group This Way. It had an arrow that pointed to what looked like used to be the children’s section of the library. Yang slowly made her way toward the room. The walls were painted an off-white, and the carpet was a sandy yellow. The chairs in the room all matched. They were red and felt on the top half, with a cushion where the person sat down. The bottom was completely wooden. Although it didn’t look terrible, it was definitely outdated. No one was in a definitive single group at that point, and Yang didn’t exactly know where to go. Before the accident that left her armless, she didn’t find talking hard. She was extremely outgoing and could honestly make friends with a lamppost. But in this moment Yang felt out of place. It hadn’t been that long since the incident happened, and she hadn’t really been outside of the four walls of her room and her therapist’s office. She idly stood in a corner, at this point not knowing what to do. As she looked around, she saw people with all sorts of missing limbs. Hands, feet, arms, legs: if it wasn’t a vital organ, it was missing off of someone in that room. There wasn’t any more than 15 people, and they all seemed to know each other fairly well. Yang hit her hip against a table that had a fresh pot of coffee on it, along with a few cups. “Don’t mind if I do,” Yang thought to herself, as she began to pour herself a cup.

As she put what she deemed to be the only good thing about this place up to her mouth, the back of her leg was hit by something.

“Hey, Blondie. Never seen you here before. What’s your name?”

A bit of Yang’s coffee spilled over into the carpet, “Hey!”

“Eh, don’t worry about that. This carpet is dirtier than Smelly Dan over there.” 

At that point, Yang finally turned around. She saw a legless boy about her age in a wheelchair looking up at her. Almost everything about this boy was black or grey. Even his hair was a deep grey. 

“You still haven’t told me your name.”

A bit taken aback, and slightly confused, the blonde girl said, “Yang… Yang Xiao Long. You?”

“Mercury. Mercury Black. You’re new here, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah,” Yang told him. 

He gave her something between a smile and a smirk, “I see you haven’t been like us for long.”

“Excuse me?” Yang asked, putting her hand on her hip.

“Well, there’s still that trauma in your eyes. You really don’t know how to handle this… and you really hate the fact that I’m getting most of this right.”

“You… You don’t know anything about me, Mercury,” She said, not wanting to admit the truth to what he just said. 

“Alright, guys,” A man with one prosthetic leg said, “Let’s begin.”

They all gathered the chairs and put them in a circle. Mercury rolled right next to where Yang sat her chair. She rolled her eyes as he came up to her.

“Trust me, you’ll want me next to you,” He says.

“As if.” She mummers to herself.

The man with one leg from earlier clears his throat, “I welcome all of you to our local Amputee Support Group. My name is Andrew, and I started this group four years ago. It seems we have a new member today.” Andrew motioned to Yang. A few months ago, if someone made Yang’s presence known, she would be ecstatic. She used to love being the center of attention. At this moment, though, she felt like everyone was staring intently at the missing arm on her right side. As if they each thought she was a circus freak that had no feelings. It wasn’t even as if these people were looking at her in that way, but that’s what the whole world felt like at this point. 

“Guys, she’s still not used to the… condition we’re all in. Especially not on herself. If I had to guess it’s only been a few months since she lost her limb. Let’s go easy on her,” the grey-haired boy from next to her said. She looked at him, a bit shocked. Yang didn’t like the fact that Mercury was reading her like an open book, but she was thankful for him standing up for her. She was especially thankful that he diverted their attention toward him, and kept it off of her. The woman on the other side of Yang whispered to her, “It’s fine, we’ve all been through the same exact thing. We know healing is hard. That’s why we try to do it together.”

Yang looked at the woman and nodded. Although Yang still didn’t want to be there, she was slightly more comfortable in the room. 

“Let’s all introduce ourselves, as I said before, I’m Andrew. I lost my leg fighting in the Navy. You don’t have to explain your amputation if you don’t feel comfortable. We don’t want to pressure anyone in here…” Andrew continued talking before moving onto the next person introducing themselves.

Eventually, it came to the grey haired boy, “Well, as most of you know, my name is Mercury… I will continue to leave how I lost my legs disclosed, for personal reasons.” People in the room nodded, and then they moved on to Yang.

“Uhm… Hi, my name is Yang. I really don’t want to share how I lost… my arm.”

That was the very first moment Yang admitted to losing her arm out loud. They continued to move on to the lady next to her. But, it was strange, it was as if Yang had pushed something off her chest she didn’t even know was there. She still felt singled out, she still felt closed off, but she was… a little freer. At this point, her mind drifted to Mercury. He seemed to have come here for so long, but he never shared how he lost his legs? He seemed to act as if he was entirely… normal. As if he didn’t even have missing legs. It was almost as if it didn’t affect him, so why wouldn’t he share the story behind them?

She looked at Mercury, only to find him looking at her. Immediately, he turned away to the current person introducing themselves, but Yang could see his face turn the faintest shade of pink. Yang decided to try to pay attention to the person talking as well, but she could only really think of Mercury. She became curious as to why he didn’t want to share, why he could read her so easily, why he acted as if nothing was wrong.

Before Yang knew it, the meeting was officially over. Everyone began picking up chairs. However, Yang didn’t pick hers up, because she was following Mercury, who was wheeling himself out the door as fast as he could.

“Mercury, wait!” Yang called out to him.

He turned his wheelchair around and looked at Yang, “So, the Blondie speaks.” 

Yang rolls her eyes, “I talked before.”

“You surely didn’t want to,” he told her.

“There you go again,” she sighed.

“There I go again what?” he asked.

“You’re pretending like you know me so well.”

“Well, I haven’t been wrong yet. Have I?” 

Yang went to say something to him, but she couldn’t.

“See?” he winks.

Yang rolls her eyes again. This boy annoyed her to no end. Why was she so drawn to him?

“How long have you been coming here?” Yang inquired.

“To the support group?” 

“Yeah…” 

Mercury hesitated before stating, “Two years.”

“It’s been two years since you lost your legs?”

“Not exactly… It’s been more like three.”

“And you still haven’t shared why you lost your legs?”

“Well. you haven’t shared why you lost your arm.”

“That’s… That’s different. You’ve had time to heal.”

“You think anyone ever truly heals from these things?” Mercury snaps.

There was a long-standing silence between the two of them. Yang felt a wave of guilt come over her. She put her hand where her arm used to be, remembering what used to be there… She couldn’t imagine what Mercury went through… losing both legs…

“I-I’m sorry,” she admitted.

“It’s… It’s fine, I guess,” He sighs.

A car horn is heard coming from the front, “Looks like my ride’s here,” Mercury states, as he starts to head toward the glass door.

“Wait, Mercury,” Yang stopped him once more.

“You really like the sound of those words together, don’t you?”

She ignored what he said, “Can I… Can I have your phone number?”

“Coming onto me so quick, Blondie?” Mercury asks.

“No.” Yang replied sternly, as she tried to hide the fact that she was slightly attracted to this boy. Then, she softened, “It’s just… You’re the only one I felt like I kind of related to in that room. And… I don’t know… I’m really tired of feeling like no one understands me. I’m just so tired-”

“-of being alone,” Mercury interjected, almost as if reading her mind.

“Yeah,” Yang told him, as she put her hand back to her armless side.

Mercury got his phone out his back pocket and handed it to Yang, “Put your number in. I’ll text you.” 

She nodded and put her number in. Immediately after, the car horn honked again.

“I really have to go,” Mercury said.

“Yeah, no, I understand,” she replied.

“Actually, I’ll call you,” he gave her a small smile.

“Alright,” she gave him a smile back, as he made his way toward the truck. 

Yang’s dad pulled up and she was able to get inside quickly.

“Well, how was it?” Her father asked, hope in his eyes.

“I think… I think I was finally able to relate to someone.”


	2. Chapter 2

Yang hadn’t ever sat by her phone for so long. She just kept waiting. Hoping. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint what she was hoping for, but she knew she was hoping. She thought about the silver-haired boy from the meeting, and he actually made her smile a bit. Although, she would never tell him. After the accident, emotional attachments are something Yang wanted to avoid- at all costs. She almost felt as if she didn’t deserve to have a relationship. But if she was being honest with herself, she was so much more scared of something else. Yang was afraid that if she allowed herself to get into a relationship, she would be left… left because she wasn’t complete, not anymore.

She tried avoiding the thoughts that ran through her mind. She looked toward the side of her bed to see a picture she had put in a picture frame at the end of last school year. She sat up and grabbed it to look at it more closely. She remembered when it was taken- just about two weeks before she was able to put it in the frame. Alongside Yang in the picture, there were her three best friends. She had her younger sister Ruby, and honestly, Yang didn’t know how she would get by without Ruby. Ruby was a bright, bubbly, and youthful soul. Yang felt the need to protect Ruby, even if she knew Ruby could handle herself fairly well. Ruby had always been there for Yang, through thick and thin. She was more than grateful to have a sister like Ruby. 

Alongside Ruby, was her friend Weiss. Weiss was closer to Ruby than she was to Yang, but she was closer in age to Yang. At first, Weiss seemed kind of snobby to Yang, and at one point, she kind of got tired of Weiss. However, Ruby was adamant that Weiss needed a friend, and she was right. Weiss eventually opened up, and honestly, she wasn’t half bad. Although she wasn’t as close to Weiss as the other members of her friend group, she was very thankful to have Weiss as a good friend. 

The last member of their friend group was Blake… Blake Belladonna. Yang clasped the frame more tightly in anger. “It’s all your fault,” Yang thought to herself, “If you weren’t so infatuated with dumb Adam, I wouldn’t be this way.” Yang thought back to who took the picture- Blake’s friend Sun.” Sun is so much better for you… I can’t believe you let this happen.” Yang hadn’t talked to Blake since the accident and honestly wanted to keep it that way.

At that point, Yang had just let herself cry. She remembered all that happened, she remembered the fact that she’ll never be normal again. She remembered that she will be forced to live out the rest of her life armless. She remembered that… she felt helpless. She lying in her own sadness, curled up in her bed, unable to do much else. She stayed like this for hours. She cried until she couldn’t anymore. Since the accident, these sessions of wallowing in her own self-pity became more and more common, and this was certainly one of the rougher ones. She heard knocks at her door but chose to ignore them. Tai and Ruby had learned to leave her alone at these times. In these times, Yang needed to be alone. Even when they used to come in, Yang ignored their sympathies. Not because she didn’t want her family to care about her… but because she just couldn’t accept anything during these times.

At the point where her bed was a puddle of tears, Yang was able to finally stop crying and sat up. She moved some hair from out of her face and turned. She slowly got out the bed as she felt her feet hit the cold wooden floor. Her room was now dreary, with sorrow filling the air. Yang got herself up from her bed and slowly walked to her dresser, so she could look at herself in the mirror.

She thought she looked pathetic.

Her hair was a complete mess. The thick, blonde mop was sticking out in a million different directions. Additionally, her bangs were practically sitting straight up. Purple bags drug down beneath her eyes. Her skin was paler than it had ever been, due to the lack of sunlight she had been experiencing. What little makeup Yang had on from the meeting was all over her face, now. She pulled out some wipes from her drawer and wiped her face. After wiping it all off, she threw the wipe away as she made her way to her door. The only thing Yang had eaten that day, was breakfast. It was nearly nightfall at this point, so to say she was hungry was an understatement. 

However, regardless of how hungry Yang was, she simply didn’t want to eat. For the first week after the accident, she might have had one meal. After her dad began to notice, though, he started making Yang eat at least two meals a day. Yang knew if he had it his way, she would be eating three, but she was honestly way too stubborn. 

“How are you feeling?” her father asked cautiously.

Yang simply shook her head, letting her father know she didn’t want to talk about it. She looked back at her phone. There was nothing there, as expected. But Yang was almost thankful. She really didn’t want to talk to anyone after this episode. Tai put a plate of freshly cooked food in front of Yang.

“Bone Apple Teeth,” Taiyang told her.

Yang let out a small chuckle, “Dad, stop trying to be cool.”

“Made you laugh, didn’t I? It was nice to see a smile on your face.”

At that moment, Yang’s sister Ruby came in with the family dog, Zwei. Without a word, Ruby saw Yang and dashed to give her sister a bear hug. Yang was taken aback at first, but she eventually wrapped her arm around her sister.

“How are you feeling, Yang?” Ruby asked.

“Better than I was a minute ago, I guess.”

Ruby pulled away with a sigh, “I love you, Yang.”

“Love you too, Rubes.”

Yang knew her family could never fully understand what she was going through, but she was glad to have them. She didn’t know what she would do without Ruby and her father supporting her throughout this time. They still wanted to make sure she was okay, but they weren’t super intrusive. 

“Yang, honey,” her father began, “Ruby and I want to talk to you about something. If you don’t think you’re ready we completely understand.”

“What is it…?” Yang questioned.

Ruby took a big breath, “Dad and I were looking into getting you a prosthetic. It would be robotic, and it would respond to what your brain wants it to do… just as if… well…”

“As if it were real,” Yang finished her sister’s sentence.

Yang didn’t know what to think in that moment. Was she ready for this? She had only been without an arm for a few months… She couldn’t possibly live with a fake arm, right? Well, obviously she could. That’s why this stuff was made. But… could she handle all of this? How in the world would she handle having an arm again?

“Yang?” her father asked, “Are you okay?”

Yang snapped back to reality.   
“Uhm… Yeah, I mean… I think so…” She said, “I just… I got lost in thought. That’s all.”

“So, what do you think?” he asked her.

“What do I think?” She replied.

“What do you think about getting the arm? It’s expensive, but everyone is pitching in. Your Uncle Qrow, his wife Winter, your friends, Weiss… and even… even your friend Blake.”

The sound of her name made Yang’s blood boil, “She’s actually pitching in?”

Ruby started to speak, “Yang… I know it’s hard, but-”

“You do realize she’s the cause of my state in the first place, right?!” Yang interrupted.

Silence rang throughout the house.  
“No,” Yang broke the silence, “I don’t need it. I’m fine the way I am.”

With that, Yang got up from the table, barely touching her food.

“Goodnight,” she told her family before dashing back into her room.

Before completely cutting herself off from the world, she checked her phone one last time… Would he even understand her in this state? Yang quickly stopped her train of thought. How could she be thinking about the boy from the Amputee Support Group at a time like this? Yang wasn’t sure of most of her life in that moment, but she knew one thing.

She did not want to hear the names Blake Belladonna and Adam Taurus as long as she lived.

~

After Mercury’s dad brought him home without a word. Honestly, he preferred it that way. Silence meant nothing, and nothing meant peace. Mercury got no help from his father in getting out of the vehicle. Somehow, Mercury somehow managed to get his wheelchair from the back seat of his dad’s truck, and got himself into it. This took well over thirty minutes, meaning his father had been inside for a while when he was done. Mercury pushed himself to the front door of what his father called a house. Mercury preferred to call it his own personal hell-hole, since that’s what his father made it for him. 

When Mercury was finally able to get in, his father was sitting in front of the T.V. in his recliner. 

“Hey, kid,” his dad called him.

“What, Marcus?” Mercury snapped back at him.

“What have I told you about calling me that?! Just get me a beer.” 

Mercury wheeled himself to the fridge and got a beer to hand to his father. As Mercury made his way to his father, he asked him, “Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?” 

As soon as Mercury gave his dad his beer, his father pushed him out if his wheelchair, causing him to hit his head on the cold wooden floor. Mercury knew for a fact that it would definitely leave a bump on his forehead in the morning.

“How about a son who treats me with a little respect?” Marcus spat, not moving from his spot in the recliner. 

Mercury drug his chair away from his father before getting back into it. He knew if he got back in his chair at the same spot, his father would just do the same exact thing again. He didn’t want to be in the same room as his dad once he started drinking, so as quickly as he could, he made it to his small bedroom. He got his phone out from his pocket and unlocked it. He had seen where Yang left her phone number. He debated calling her for a minute. Mercury really wanted to talk to her, he really did. It’s not often that he was able to talk to someone he felt he related to so much. However, he knew his conversation would inevitably be cut short by his father, who was already on his first beer of the day.

Mercury could honestly say he felt nothing but hatred for his father. He only lived with him because he had no other choice. Unsurprisingly, his mother was caught cheating on his father when he was young. But because his mother was unemployed and had no way of getting money, full custody was given to his father. Growing up, he was only able to visit his mother during the holidays. However, his greatest childhood memories were being with his mother at Christmas time. Mercury could remember seeing his mother, sitting beside a warm fire with smooth Christmas music playing in the background, as his new stepfather cooked a warm dinner for the family to eat. Times like those were the only times Mercury ever felt at home. He never wanted to be with his cold-hearted, cruel father. He would tell his mother every time he got to see her how much he wanted to live with her and not with his father. His mother tried repeatedly to get full custody of Mercury, however, all her attempts failed, resulting in Mercury being forced to live with the man he despised most. 

Mercury made it over to his dresser. In his top drawer, he kept a picture of his mother. He carefully picked up the old, fragile photograph. He missed her so much. Since he turned eighteen, his father stopped taking him to see her. There were a few times where she was able to bring him, but it was hard. She lived hours away and had even more kids with her new husband. However, she always made time every Sunday to call Mercury. She even offered for Mercury to live with her multiple times, but the last time he tried to move in with his mother… the results weren’t pretty. That was the very last time his mother offered that he lived with her. He held the old photograph close to his heart. He was so glad his mother wasn’t with him in this situation… but he was also sad he didn’t have her with him. He wouldn’t wish anything poorly on his mother, but it would have been nice to have someone who was always there. Someone who was able to relate to how he was feeling. Someone who could have been there for him, just to tell him everything was going to be okay. Mercury, however, never got that. And if it meant protecting his mother from his own personal hell, then he was okay with that.

Mercury took a deep breath and placed the photograph back in his drawer. If his father ever saw him with the picture of his mother, he was sure it would find itself in the fireplace. He quietly shut his drawer and looked back at his phone again, Yang’s phone number appearing brightly. He couldn’t call her in this state. As his father’s sobriety lessened, his anxiety peaked, because he wasn’t sure how badly the outcome of the night would be. His father was bad when he was sober, but alcohol was almost like giving his father ammunition to a gun that could only hurt Mercury. Because of that, Mercury made it a priority to stay hidden and quiet. If he was out of his father’s sight, he was out of his father’s mind. At least, that’s what’s kept him alive so far. Trying to keep his mind off of whatever his father was doing, and staying quiet. 

Mercury hoped every day that wouldn’t be how he died.


	3. Chapter 3

Mercury woke up the next morning to his phone ringing consistently. His entire body was as sore as could be. Mercury didn’t want to think or imagine what could have happened last night. He wanted to completely block his father from his mind. He ignored the phone, but it kept ringing… and ringing…

“What?” He groaned, finally answering the person who called him at least five times.

“That’s quite the way to greet the person who’s getting you out of your father’s house for the day,” Emerald. He’d forgotten.

Emerald was like Mercury’s twin sister, except they weren’t blood-related, nor did they look anything alike. They met in kindergarten, Emerald was being bullied and Mercury was there to help her get away from the bullies. By getting away, that meant beating them to a pulp, giving her and Mercury detention for a whole month. They’d been practically inseparable ever since. In their later school years, they earned the reputation as the “bad” kids. Neither really knew why. They hadn’t ever really done much that was really wrong. They kind of just kept to themselves, and no one else truly bothered them. But when Mercury lost his legs, people avoided the two like the plague. Many rumors surfaced, speculating how Mercury lost his legs, but none were right. This didn’t stop people from believing them, though. Mercury was glad Emerald was there with him through that. He truly didn’t know what he would have done without her. Obviously, they’d consistently gotten the, “Why aren’t you two dating?” question over and over. Truth is, they never really saw each other in that way. They’d only ever seen each other as friends, and nothing more. Emerald had dated quite a few guys since she and Mercury met, but none ever stuck around very long. Before Mercury’s accident, he dated a few girls, but none since it occurred.

Mercury cursed under his breath, “I’m sorry, Em. I completely forgot.”

“Your dads asleep, right?”

“Probably’ll be knocked out until at least noon.”

“Then I’m coming inside. I’m impatient, so be ready within half an hour, Loser.”

With that, Emerald hung up on him. Mercury groaned and sat up in his bed. He came to his daily decision: prosthetics or wheelchair? Thinking for a minute, Mercury put on his prosthetics. He took a few minutes to put them on, but eventually stood up and began walking. He changed from his pajamas into some normal clothes. He remembered showering at some point last night, but at that point, he was honestly too exhausted to care. He sprayed on what cologne he had and walked into his living room to get to his kitchen when he saw Emerald sitting on the couch. He could see her old beat up car parked in the driveway. 

“I’m assuming you haven’t had breakfast yet,” Emerald said.

“Obviously not.”

“Want to pick something up?”

“You do know I’m unemployed.”

“That was your choice, Merc. At least I’m gonna go to college this fall.”

“Well, I was never meant to go to college, Em. You know that. I was gonna join the Army, but that obviously didn’t work out too well. Besides, employers aren’t exactly jumping for joy when they notice my legs aren’t there. They really just see it as another expense for their insurance to pay… You want some cereal?”

Emerald sighed, “Yeah, sure. I don’t trust your milk, though. Give it to me dry.”

Mercury made his way over to the kitchen and made two bowls of cereal, one with milk, one without. He handed a bowl to Emerald and sat next to her on the couch. Mercury pulled out his phone and unlocked it, opening to Yang’s phone number. He cursed under his breath. 

“What, am I not the only person you forgot about?” Emerald asked him. 

“Actually, you’re right. I’m gonna take this,” Mercury got up from his seat and pressed the call button.

“Who is it, a girl?” Emerald teased.

Mercury disregarded Emerald’s comment and went outside. He waited as the phone rang and rang…

“It’s Yang. Did you know that Roses are red and boogers are green? So, please leave your message on this stupid machine.”

Her voice was cheerful and happy, making Mercury smile, she wasn’t like that at the support group, she was a lot more distant… Mercury could understand, though. He’d been through the same emotional process. A beep went off through the phone and Mercury began his message, “Hey Blondie, it’s the hot guy from the support group? Sorry I couldn’t call you last night. I had some family stuff. Call me when you can.” With that, he hung up his phone and went inside. 

“I’ll take it she didn’t answer,” Emerald said as he came back in.

“It’s still pretty early,” Mercury added, picking up his cereal from where he left it, “Besides, who picks someone up at 8:30 in the morning anyway?”

“Someone getting you out of here, so be thankful. What’s her name, Merc?”

“Emerald, are you serious right now?”

“Entirely. What’s her name?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“No one names their daughter Doesn’t Matter. What’s her name?”

“If I tell you will you shut up about it?”

“Probably not?”

Mercury sighed, “Emerald, you’re impossible.”

“Thanks, so tell me her name.”

“...Yang.”

“Oohh sounds nice. Where’d you meet her?”

“Where are we going today?”

Emerald took her last bite of cereal and crossed her arms, “Don’t try and change the subject.”

“Okay, we’ll keep it on what we’re doing today.”

Rolling her eyes, Emerald said, “We’re going to the Pier.”

“The Pier? That place where those rich people shop?”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to meet a... uh… a friend there.”

“Ohhh a friend,” Mercury smirks, “What’s his name?”

“Hey, that’s not fair.”

“I had to tell you about Yang.”

Emerald sighed, “His name is Sage. He graduated from Saint Benedict this past May with us.”

“Except we graduated from crummy Northgate. I never thought you’d go for a rich boy.”

“Mercury, he’s not like that. He knew I didn’t feel comfortable with the whole money situation, so he never really brought it up. He’s really sweet, Merc… and today’s the first time we’re meeting up since we met at the mall.”

“So… you want me to third wheel on your date?”

“No, no, no. Mercury some of his other friends are coming too. I don’t know if they’re all from Benedict, but I don’t want it to be super awkward with his friends, Plus, you needed to get out the house anyway.”

Mercury thought about it for a moment. He really had nothing better to do, and he definitely did not want to stay in this house.

“Sure, why not?”

“Thank you so much, Mercury.”

 

-

 

“So, why is it that you want me to go on your date with Neptune? You’ve been dating him for over a year, now Weiss. I shouldn’t have to be your wingwoman.” Yang asked Weiss as she dug through her closet, ferociously searching for a nice outfit for her date.

 

“Well, it’s technically a double date. Sage met this girl Emerald at the mall and he really hit it off with her. They got along well. Sage, Neptune and I went to Saint Benedict, we don’t want to make it seem like we only hang around people of a certain wealth status.”

Yang crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow, “So I’m your token poor friend doubling as a fifth wheel?”  
“Yang, you’re not poor. You just went to public school. Plus, Emerald is bringing a friend of hers. So you’re not a fifth wheel either. Pyrrha and Jaune are coming too, and they went to public school. We’re a group of friends hanging out, and it just so happens that two couples of the eight people hanging out are currently dating, and two other people in the group are too dumbly oblivious to realize they like each other.”

Yang shook her head, “Yeah, Jaune and Pyrrha just need to get married already.”

Weiss laughed with her, then turned serious, “Yang, are you sure you’re okay with going out today? Ruby told me you had an episode yesterday…”

Yang frowned, thinking back to her day filled with nothing but sadness, and sighed. “Weiss, there are good days and bad days,” she explains, “I don’t know what type of day today is, and I won’t know until the end of the day. Yesterday was just a really bad day. And… I haven’t gone out and really… had fun since…well, you know...” Yang looked to her right and felt a pain in her gut. She put her hand back where her arm once was.

Weiss gave Yang a big hug, “You can get through this, Yang. I know you can.”

Yang gave a small smile, and wrapped her arm around Weiss, “Thank you.”   
After a few moments, the girls pulled away from each other, “Now,” Weiss went into her closet, “White top blue jeans or blue top with white jeans?” She came out showing Yang two outfit choices.

Yang thought for a moment, “White top, blue jeans, with your grey cardigan.”

Weiss nodded, and got the clothes out. It was quite early in the day. Yang’s dad had dropped her off at Weiss’s house (well, really a mansion) on the way to work. Weiss had invited her about a week ago, but Yang actually wasn’t planning on coming. But, since Ruby had a huge test to study for, it was best to leave her with a quiet house. Additionally, Tai encouraged her, thinking it would be good for her.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Yang asked, “All you said is that we were hanging out.”

“The Pier.”

“Really? Don’t you have to pay fifty bucks just to breathe within the vicinity of the Pier?” 

“No, Yang. It’s actually free to go to the Pier, it costs to buy stuff there. In fact, Sage is paying for everyone’s lunch. He wanted to pay for his friend’s, but he didn’t want to single her out.”

“You know, I really wonder how I befriended a Schnee and an Ayana,” Yang asked.

“Well, life works in mysterious ways, Yang.”

 

-

 

Yang, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha and Neptune all sat in front of the entrance to the shopping area, “I know this parking lot is big, but how long does it take to find someone?” Jaune exclaims, getting slightly aggravated with waiting for Sage to find where Emerald had parked. 

“Jaune, calm down. I think he’s coming back with her there.” Pyrrha stated, immediately shifting everyone’s attention to where she was pointing.

Sure enough, there Sage was his arm around a girl’s shoulder. She was slightly smaller than him. Not far behind the two, walking confidently was a boy dressed in gray. “It can’t be him… can it?” Yang thought. She hadn’t checked her phone since she woke up this morning. Did he have prosthetics too…?

“Blondie…?” He asked as he approached the group, a smirk on his face.

“Mercury?” Yang asked  
.  
“Wait, you two know each other?” Sage inquired.

“Yeah…” Mercury started  
.  
Yang finished, “We met at the Amputee Support Group.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo so I know right now I’m spitting out chapters like it’s nothing, but that’s because I had some pre-done before I posted. Pretty soon they’ll get less and less. I’ll try to update about once a week, then. Thanks for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

“This is great!” Neptune exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Mercury and Yang, “One less introduction to do. I’m Neptune,” He puts his arms back to his side, but then extends one out to Mercury.

“Uhm, Hi. I’m Mercury.” Mercury hesitantly shook his hand, not knowing what to think of the blue-haired boy in front of him.

Yang giggled quietly, knowing Neptune is a bit forward because he has a need for everyone to like him.

“This is my lovely girlfriend, Weiss Schnee,” Neptune dragged Weiss alongside him. Red with embarrassment, Weiss waved, and lets out a small, “Hi.”

As quickly as Mercury met the two, they pushed themselves to meet Emerald, who was standing next to Sage. 

Two other people approached him, a girl and a boy around his age. The girl spoke first, “Hello, I’m Pyrrha. It’s nice to meet you. Mercury, is it?”

She was equal parts polite and cheerful, very different from Mercury. 

Mercury nodded, shook her hand, and told her, “That’s me.”

The girl motioned over to her friend, who honestly seemed a bit awkward, “And this is Jaune.”

The blonde boy awkwardly waved and said, “Uhm, Hi.”

Pyrrha blushed at Jaune’s awkwardness as Mercury simply nodded at the two, and looked back to a laughing Yang. She seemed a bit more cheerful than she had the other day- it made him glad. Though, he would never admit it. He walked past the two to get back to Yang again.

“I didn’t expect to run back into you so soon, Blondie,” Mercury admitted.

“Neither did I,” Yang recalled, “You hadn’t even called me yet.” She said it in a way that wasn’t angry, but rather curious.

“I called you this morning, but you didn’t answer,” Mercury shrugged.

“I was with Weiss all morning, helping her get ready for her date.”

“Didn’t take you for the super girly makeup type, Blondie. I thought you were just naturally that pretty.”

“First off, that was so cheesy it was bad,” Yang, blushing, and Mercury laughed for a moment before she continued, “And I’m not. Weiss is the master in that department. Every now and then I’m dragged into the role of a dress-up doll.”

There’s a small moment of silence before Yang starts talking again, “So, you can walk?” 

“What kind of human doesn’t walk?”

“Ones without legs,” Yang motions to his pants where his legs should be.

Mercury bends down to lift up a pant leg, revealing sturdy metal rather than flesh, “See? I have legs. They’re just not… traditional.”

Yang rolls her eyes at his comment and nods, “Wow, I was really dumb for not thinking of that earlier.” She laughs at herself for a second, but then Pyrrha walks back up to them after introducing herself to Emerald.

Pyrrha smiles, “Well, ready to go shopping?”

The group made their way into where the shopping area began. The Pier was a high-end shopping area comprised of various strip malls and a pier overseeing a lake. Palm trees and various other tropical shrubberies were neatly placed in patterns from store to store as decoration. All the stores matched on the outside, regardless of how different they were inside. 

Weiss and Neptune acted as if they were attached at the hip. They held hands as they looked at products in the windows, thinking about what ship to go into. Sage kept his arm around Emerald, as her face remained as red as her eyes. They only talked to each other, acting as if the others weren’t around them. They didn’t pay much attention to the stores around them either. Pyrrha And Jaune acted like a hot mess. Jaune kept his hands in the pocket of his bunny hoodie. If he hadn’t, he’d probably unintentionally break a pot holding a plant. Thankfully Pyrrha was there making sure he didn’t accidentally kill himself. They each were blushing at each other like crazy, really only talking with each other. It was so blatantly obvious they liked each other, but neither seemed to act on it. 

Then there was Yang and Mercury.

They were quite isolated from their friends since they were all distracted by each other. But honestly, they didn’t mind. Mercury was just thankful that he wasn’t at home. He really just wanted to be away from that atmosphere at all times. He really wished he could ignore all that was happening, and just stay in this moment, away from Marcus, but that was just a Dream. Yang, on the other hand like that no attention was placed on her. She had her father’s old leather jacket draped over her shoulders but left her arm out of it. That way, it seemed like she was complete. She was able to hide the fact that part of her was missing.

“Soooo the red-head and the blond boy aren’t dating?” Mercury asked her, breaking the silence.

Yang shook her head, “Nope, but they definitely need to. I mean, it’s pretty obvious Pyrrha and Jaune like each other. You’ve only known them for fifteen minutes, and you can tell more than they do.”

Mercury chuckled, “You and your friends haven’t told them anything?”

“Oh, trust me. We’ve tried,” Yang told him, “We’ve done just about everything but plan a date for them and force them to go on it.”

“Hey, maybe that’s what they need,” Mercury shrugged.

“Maybe… it’d take a lot of work, though.”

“Well, all relationships take work.”

“Obviously, they do. It’s just… I haven’t done much since…”

“I’ve got it. It’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it. We’re not at support group. No one's forcing you to.”

Yang looked up at Mercury as he looked down at her. Their height difference wasn’t too staggering with his legs, but it was enough to make Mercury taller than Yang.

“Thank you,” she told him.

“No need to thank me, Blondie,” Mercury changed the atmosphere quickly from serious to joking.

“So, you graduated from Benedict?” Mercury asks.

“Oh, No. Only ones here who graduated from Benedict are Sage, Neptune, and Weiss. Jaune, Pyrrha And I graduated from Emerson. My dad’s a single parent. There’s no way he’d have been able to afford private school. What about you?”

“Northgate.”

“Emerald too?”

“Yup. Emerald and I have known each other since kindergarten. She’s like my sister.”

“Well, I had a friend like that. She’s out of the picture, now. Besides, I have a real sister, and you can’t beat those.”

“Older or younger?”

“I’m older. She’s still at Emerson,” Yang explained.

“What’s her name?” Mercury asked.

“Ruby. Ruby Rose.”

“Wait, I don’t remember your last name all that well, but if it’s Rose, my first name is Venus.”

Yang laughed, “No, it’s Xiao Long. Ruby’s my half-sister.”

“So, your dad got two women pregnant, and still ended up a single dad?”

“It’s not his fault, Mercury. My mom ran off when I was young. Ruby’s mom actually passed away from cancer. When she was about 5. She kind of acted like my mom, especially since mine ran off.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made you talk about that,” Mercury hid his hands in his pockets, knowing he didn't want to talk about his family drama, so he definitely didn’t want to make her talk about hers either.

“No, it’s fine. I mean, I didn’t know her much anyway. She didn’t want me. Sure, I wanted to know who she was and why she left when I was older, but…”

“But, What?” Mercury asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“I just… I just stopped caring one day,” Yang shrugged, causing the jacket to fall off her shoulders.

Yang just stood there frozen. It felt like her heart stopped. She knew she shouldn’t have come outside. She wasn’t ready, she couldn’t possibly-

Her thoughts were cut short by Mercury picking up the jacket, and draping it back over her arms.

“Now, we don’t want to lose your jacket. Do we?” Mercury remarked.

Yang looked up at him as if he’d just saved her life, she wanted to thank him, but was interrupted by Sage calling out, “Hey, guys! We’re at the place I made reservations! Lunch is on me!”

~

Although still in their duos, after lunch, the group went all around the Pier. They shopped, they joked, they laughed, and they had fun. Weiss and Neptune bought the most stuff, but most of what they bought was for each other. Emerald told Sage that he didn’t need to buy her anything, but he couldn’t stop himself from getting her a small incense lamp she eyed in one of the small meditation stores. Pyrrha and Jaune decided to get one gift, each for the other person. Jaune bought Pyrrha a golden necklace with an arrow on it, while Pyrrha bought Jaune an action figure from one of his favorite shows.

Yang and Mercury didn’t buy anything, though. Partly because they had no money, but also because they weren’t really paying attention to what was in the stores. They generally talked to each other. The two talked about almost everything. Almost. They avoided family and how they lost their limbs at all costs, but they talked about various other things. They talked about their old schools, they talked about what they wanted to do in the fall. Yang talked about how she was supposed to start at Beacon University, but she wasn’t sure she’d be ready to start by the time August rolled around. Mercury explained how he wanted to go into the Army, but avoided talking about why he couldn’t join. They talked about their interests, what they enjoyed doing and such. Mercury brought up the fact that he liked to work on cars. He used to do it a lot in high school and actually made some money doing it. Yang told him about boxing. In High School, she was the best female boxer there was. She lived for boxing, and she was glad she did it. Boxing is one of the main reasons she was going to Beacon- they offered her a scholarship to box. She doubted she’d be able to keep it now, but she didn’t tell Mercury that.

The day was coming to an end. Mercury and Yang had made their way to the actual Pier, as their friends goofed off at the outdoor seating area a bit far off. They continued talking until the conversation came to a standstill. Only half of the sun was showing, as its rays shimmered across the blue water. The sky was a collection of oranges, reds, and yellows. It was so beautiful, it seemed to be a painting rather than the actual sky. At the highest point in the sky, the moon could be seen. Unlike near the sun, the small moon was enveloped in darkness, without many stars showing in the sky. At that point, the sky was almost at a perfect equilibrium. As if night and day were happening at the same exact time. 

Mercury broke the silence, “You know, I really love the sun. It’s weird, I know, but it provides light and life to everything…” He turned his head to Yang, “It’s just beautiful.”

Yang then looked to Mercury, then up at the moon, “Well, I love the moon. Because of all the darkness in the sky,” she looked back to Mercury, “It shines brightly like no other.” 

The two were closer to each other than they realized. They leaned against the wooden railing as they looked at each other. They each reveled in that moment, taking time to observe each other’s faces. It felt as if the world around them didn’t matter. The silence around them was loud, but in a way that comforted them both. Yang didn’t know what to think. She was really liking this guy. She didn’t want to start developing feelings for him. She didn’t even know if she was ready to be in a relationship… but she definitely wanted to kiss him. “Just kiss her, already,” Mercury thought to himself. But at the same time, he didn’t know if she felt the same way. He wanted to kiss her. He really wanted to kiss her. 

“YANG!”

Both Yang and Mercury jolted up. They weren’t expecting to hear Weiss’s voice call from the other side of the Pier. She made her way toward Yang and Mercury, waving to get their attention.

“Yang, your dad’s here to pick you up. He said you weren’t picking up your phone,” Weiss told her.

Yang looked at Weiss, and then turned back to Mercury, 

“You should really turn that thing back on,” Mercury joked.

Yang rolled her eyes, “I’ll talk to you later, Mercury.”

“Bye, Blondie,” Mercury winked.

Yang wouldn’t let him see, but after she turned around to follow Weiss, her cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. 

“So, you and Emerald’s friend, huh?” Weiss nudged Yang’s arm.

“Oh, C'mon,” Yang tried to play it off, but Weiss read right through her.

“You like him, don’t you?” 

“He has a name,” Yang corrected her.

“Mercury, isn’t it? How god-like,” Weiss tried to get Yang to crack.

“Alright, Fine!” Yang admitted, “I like Mercury. Happy?”

“Very,” Weiss smirked. They had made their way to the parking lot, where Yang saw Dad in her yellow truck.

“He… He brought my truck,” Yang said, astonished as she opened the passenger side door.

“Hey, Kiddo,” Tai smiled, “Hi, Weiss.”

“Hi, Mr. Xiao Long,” Weiss smiled, “I’ll see you later, Yang.”

Yang made her way into the car, “Bye, Weiss.” She shut the door, “Hey, Dad… Why did you-“

“I brought your car because it needed to be driven. You haven’t driven it in a long time, in fact, you haven’t driven in a really long time,” he explained.

“Oh… it just feels weird,” she touched the dashboard, reminiscing about the times before. 

“You think you’re ready to drive again, Yang?” Tai asked.

Yang thought for a second, but she knew her answer, “No, Dad… I still need some time.”


	5. Chapter 5

“YAAAANG!” Ruby cried out cheerfully, storming into Yang’s bedroom.

Yang groaned, pulling her covers over her head, “Ruby, it’s way too early for this.”

“Alright, I guess I won’t tell you that the cute guy you talked to yesterday is calling youuuuu,” Ruby teased, waving Yang’s phone in the air.

Yang shot up from her bed in that moment, snatching her phone from her sister, 

Ruby laughed, “You’re Welcooooome.”

Yang rolled her eyes, pressing answer on her phone.

“Hello?” Yang asked, pressing the phone to her ear. Ruby smiled, walking out the room.

“Hey, Blondie. Nice to hear from you.”

Yang smiled, “Hey, Mercury.”

“How are you?” Mercury asked her.

“I just woke up. Well, I was woken up. My sister barged in to tell me you were calling. I guess I left my phone in the kitchen last night.”

“You can’t keep track of that thing, can you?” Mercury joked.

“I guess not,” she gives a small laugh, “How’s your day?”

There’s a small silence before Mercury answers, “It’s… normal. I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Oh… okay.” It perplexed Yang as to why he would avoid such a simple question, “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for Emerald to come get me. She’s getting me out the house. Might just go to her place, or we might go to a park or something. She’s bringing Sage along, so I’ll have the wonderful job of the third wheel,” Mercury told her.

“Then why are you going?” Yang questioned.

“I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Do you always go out and do stuff with Emerald?”

“Yeah. If she’s busy I’ll usually go for a walk.”

“You never just stay at home?” Yang inquired.

Mercury clutched his phone, he shouldn’t drag her into a fight that wasn’t hers. He didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of Marcus. “I just… let’s leave it at I don’t like being home, okay? You know what, let’s change the subject. What’re you doing today?”

Yang, although concerned, just went along with it, “Probably sit in the house, help dad with some chores. I haven’t had very many busy days lately.”

“I get it. After my incident, I stayed at Emerald’s house for as long as I could before my dad made me go back…” There’s a silence between the two, “Anyway, do you have an Emerald?”

“What?” Yang asked, confused.

“It's an analogy, Blondie,” Mercury laughed, “You know, like a best friend you can go to for anything. The girl who brought you yesterday… Weiss, is it? What about her?”

Yang sighed, feeling a pain in her heart, she looked back at the picture on her nightstand. It was a time when all of her friends were there... complete… She put the picture to where it faced down. “No, Weiss is a lot closer to my sister Ruby.” Her voice was cold, stagnate. 

“So… you don’t have a best friend?” Mercury asked.

“Well…” Yang looked to her right side, seeing her missing arm, “Not anymore.”

“... What happened?” Mercury asked.

“...Let’s change the subject,” Yang avoided Mercury’s question. She liked Mercury, but she definitely wasn’t ready to share what happened with Blake.

“Oh… okay… uhm… How about Harry Potter?”

“Harry Potter?” Yang asked.

“Yeah, you’ve read the books, haven’t you?”

“Well, who hasn’t?” 

“Surprisingly, Emerald.”

“You’re kidding,” Yang tells him.

“Nope. I think she would’ve read them if I shut up about them freshman year.”

Yang laughed, “Don’t worry. I was a huge Harry Potter nerd too.”

“You’ve got to be a Gryffindor. Independent, strong willed-”

 

“You know, I thought we were past the part where you read me like an open book,” Yang joked. 

“Well, you give it a try, Blondie. Try reading one thing about me.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… My Hogwarts House.”

Yang thought for a moment, she analyzed Mercury’s personality, or at least what she knew about him so far. “You’re clever, but in a more sly way than a Ravenclaw. You seem pretty accepting, but your standoffish personality means you’re definitely not a Hufflepuff. You’re independent, but in a more seclusive way than any Gryffindor.”

“So?” Mercury asked.

“You’re obviously a Slytherin.”

Mercury chuckled, “Bingo, Blondie. See? Reading people isn’t that hard.”

“No,” Yang interjected, “Guessing your Hogwarts House wasn’t that hard. You’re a pretty obvious Slytherin.”

“Is that so?” Mercury questioned.

“I think that statement just further confirms the fact you’re a Slytherin.”

The two laughed. Even through the two weren’t physically next to each other, they enjoyed each other’s company.

“Hey, Blondie?” Mercury questioned, trying to keep the confident facade, when honestly he was scared half to death.

“Yeah, Merc? Is it okay if I call you that?” She asked.

“Oh, yeah. That’s fine… uhm… So what’re you doing this Saturday?”

“This Saturday? Nothing… why?” Yang felt her heart accelerate and her cheeks heat up. 

“Would you… you know… wanna grab something to eat? Or even go to the movies… Whatever you like better.”

Yang had a bigger smile on her face than she’d had in months, “Of course.”

Mercury sighed in relief. He hadn’t been so nervous in such a long time, he’d never admit it though. “That’s great, Blondie. I’ll see you then, Emerald just pulled up.”

“Alright,” Yang would be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little bit disappointed, “Goodbye, Merc.”

“Bye, Blondie,” and with that, the phone call disconnected.

-

Mercury ended the call and got into Emerald’s old car.

“Let me guess, you just got off the phone with Yang,” Emerald told him.

“Why would you say that?” Mercury asked her, honestly surprised that she could tell.

“You’re smiling. You don’t do that coming from your house. Well, you don’t ever do it, actually. It’s the only logical solution.”

Mercury didn’t know how to feel about the words coming out of his best friend’s mouth. She was entirely right. He hated his house. He hated his father. He hated everything about this town. He wanted nothing more than to leave it and never come back. With such a distaste for a place, it made it hard to smile. He mostly kept a facade of neutrality. His kept his face straight in order to scare off anyone who dared ask him what was wrong. 

Then there was Yang.

He didn’t know what it was about her honestly. He’d only known her a few days. Maybe it was the fact that she was the only person relatively close to his age who was also missing limbs. Maybe it was the fact that he could see the hurt in her eyes, especially when thinking about her arm. Maybe it was the fact that he found her incredibly and awe-inspiringly beautiful. Maybe it was how bright she shined. Maybe it was because of her radiance. Mercury honestly had no definitive answer as to why he was so attracted to her, but he couldn’t deny that he was. 

Although Mercury thought about these things long and hard, he was still hurt, and he was still damaged. The words that came from his mouth here not him, but another brick in a wall.

“So?”

“So? I’m happy for you, Mercury.”

“Sure you are, Emerald.”

Emerald made a jolting stop at a stop sign, “Don’t give me that crap, Mercury.”

“What crap?”

“This crap! This crappy attitude of ‘I don’t care about anything or anyone so stop trying to make me talk about my emotions.’”

“Sure, whatever,” Mercury stared out the dirty window.

Emerald put the car in park, as she tried to soften her tone, “What is it, Mercury? Is it your legs? Is it your… is it your dad?”

“I think you know the answer to that question,” he blankly drew the words from his mouth.

Emerald sighed, and at that point, continued moving the car forward, “I’m sorry, Mercury.”

“Can we just not talk about it?” Mercury pleaded.

Emerald simply nodded, without a word she continued to drive to Sage’s house. 

-

Yang walked out her room happily. She quickly made her way down to the kitchen where she smelled bacon and pancakes being cooked by her father.

“Smells good, Dad,” she said as she peered over Taiyang’s shoulder.

He gave her a warm smile, “Chocolate chip or regular?”

“Both, obviously,” She told him. 

Tai made her a plate with two pancakes and a few pieces of bacon. Zwei got under the table and begged for Yang to give him a bit of her bacon. Yang smiled and laughed a bit before giving Zwei the smallest piece of her bacon. 

“You seem quite chipper this morning,” Taiyang told her. 

At that moment, Ruby walked in, “That’s because she talked to her boyfriend all morning.”

“Boyfriend?!” Taiyang asked, quite flabbergasted.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Yang told the two in the room.

“Not yet,” Ruby smirked. 

“So, uhm… Who is this young boy?” Yang’s father tried to keep the over-protective side inside. 

“No one, Dad,” Yang glared at Ruby, but Ruby still did the exact opposite of what Yang wanted her to.

“His name is Mercury,” Ruby grabbed the plate that her father made for her and sat at the table. 

“Mercury? Did he go to your school?” Tai inquired.

“No, Dad. He’s nobody, I pro-”

“She’s lying,” Ruby interjected with a huge smile painted across her face.

Yang kicked her sister from under the table.

“Hey!” Ruby exclaimed.

“Girls, stop this,” Taiyang demanded sternly.

Both girls stopped their arguing, and looked down as they continued eating their breakfast. 

“So, Yang. Tell me about this boy,” Tai kindly approached Yang.

“I just… Well, I mean… His name is Mercury…” Yang managed to get out.

“Alright, what else?” 

This was by far the most awkward family conversation the Xiao Long-Rose household ever had. Taiyang was trying to get information about Mercury out of Yang, while Yang was trying to avoid talking about Mercury because letting her dad know about her boy problems was the most awkward thing ever. Ruby, on the other hand, was trying to refrain from bursting out laughing at the awkwardness between her father and sister. 

Their family had been through a lot, but just to have a conversation like this, no matter how awkward, or in Ruby’s case, funny, Yang was glad to have it. This conversation continued until Yang finished her plate, yet all Taiyang knew about Mercury was his hair color and his name. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me anything else?” Taiyang asked his daughter.

“Yeah, your pancakes are delicious,” Yang smiled.

“Ha ha,” Tai sarcastically laughed, “I mean about Mercury.”

“Nope,” Yang said, faster than she’d like to admit. 

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll tell you everything I know,” Ruby winked at her father.

“Well then, Dad. I’ll be sure to tell you everything about Ruby’s boyfriend Oscar,” Yang smirked.

“Who’s Oscar?!” Taiyang asked.

“He was my lab partner,” Ruby glared at Yang.

“Aaaand he’s in your driver’s ed class,” Yang pointed out, “He was over here yesterday helping you study, right Ruby?”

Ruby’s face was as red as the ends of her hair, “We were studying, Yang.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Studying,” Yang winked.

“Heyyyy Dad’s still in the room,” Taiyang said, getting up from the table. This left Ruby to be the last one at the table. 

The two girls laughed at this, as their father stated, “You know, maybe I don’t want to know about either of your boyfriends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo I know this chapter was kind of all over the place, but aye, character development has to happen. I'm going to Disney World next week, so I'm gonna try and prewrite a chapter?? honestly, it depends on how fast I write. Hope you enjoyed this chapter <3


	6. Chapter Six

“You look great, Yang!!” Ruby told her sister, looking at the tenth outfit she’d chosen.

“Ruby, you said that about all the others too,” Weiss interjected, “Plus, the orange of the shirt with the black leather jacket makes you look like Halloween threw up on you.”

Yang groaned, she just wanted to find an outfit for her date with Mercury that day.

“Yang, I told you. Try on the sundress,” Weiss told her friend, holding up the beautiful pale yellow dress.

“I don’t know,” Yang sighed. The dress was absolutely gorgeous, the perfect mixture of casualty and elegance. She honestly didn’t feel as if she was worthy to wear the dress, it was too perfect and she… she was too imperfect.

“C’mon, Yang,” Ruby placed her hand on her sister’s left shoulder, “Just try it on!”

Yang looked down at her shorter, younger sister. Ruby softly smiled at her older sister, “Please?”

“Alright,” Yang nodded with her eyes closed.

Ruby cheered, as Weiss handed Yang the dress. Gripping onto the hanger, Yang looked at the dress. She wished she’d had her other arm to feel the dress as she made her way to the bathroom. She hung the dress on an empty hook in her bathroom. Yang turned around and looked into the mirror. Her wavy blonde hair made its way down to her hips. It was intensely thick, yet Weiss had promised she would do something with it before Yang’s date with Mercury. Yang wasn’t sure how she would even manage to brush it, but she let her friend help her. She thought it was weird, she was just going on a date with Mercury, but Weiss and Ruby were acting as if this date was Mercury and Yang’s wedding. Yang shook the thought from her mind, not wanting to think about that in the moment. Yang put her hand through her knotted hair before getting out of the clothes she’d chosen before, and getting into the dress. She hadn’t worn a dress in… well, Yang couldn’t even remember how long it had been. She certainly hadn’t worn one without her arm before. This made getting the dress on immensely more difficult. However, Yang was determined to get it on without any help at all. Weiss and Ruby called for Yang, making sure she was okay, and offering their help. Regardless, Yang assured them she was fine and continued to struggle with the yellow sundress on her own.

When Yang was finally able to get it on, she looked at her dishevelled self. Her hair was a mess, but the dress looked stunning. The top was a little tight, but hugged her torso in all the right places. The dress was sleeveless, leaving only two straps to replace the jobs of the sleeves. The bottom went down to right above her knees and was loose and flowing. On the back there was a fake perfectly tied bow. The yellow of the dress complimented Yang’s hair and lilac eyes. Yang grabbed the old leather jacket from the ground and allowed it to hug her bare shoulders, not putting the sleeves through her arms as she had before.

She walked out the bathroom. Ruby and Weiss were talking, but as soon as Yang came out their attention was diverted. Ruby’s jaw practically fell to the floor when she saw her sister. Weiss on the other hand crossed her arms and gave a large smirk.

“I knew this was the one,” Weiss bragged.

“You look like a princess!” Ruby exclaimed, running up to hug her sister.

Yang smiled, and gave a small laugh before hugging her sister, “Thank you, Ruby.”

“Uh, hello? I’m the one who chose the dress?” Weiss made herself known.

“Thank you, Weiss,” Yang rolled her eyes, and Weiss nodded, smiling.

“Now,” Weiss stated as Ruby and Yang pulled apart, “It’s time for your hair.”

 

-

 

“Emeralllldddd” Mercury groaned sitting in his wheelchair.

“What? It’s your first date with Yang, you need to look nice,” Emerald explained her actions.

“We’re going to the movies, not to prom. I don’t need a suit,” Mercury crossed his arms.

“Fine, Fine, Fine,” Emerald put away the disgusting fuschia suit, and looked back into Mercury’s closet, “Why do you have that anyway?”

“Mom got her vows renewed a few years ago. For some reason, they chose that ugly color for their vow renewal,” Mercury shrugged.

Emerald nodded, halfway caring. Her main focus was helping Mercury find an outfit for his date with Yang, “What about this?” Emerald asked, pulling out a black polo.

“I’m not a gulf Dad. When have you ever seen me in a polo?” Mercury retorted.

“Well, you obviously own one,” She shook the polo in front of Mercury’s face before putting it back into the closet.

She then pulls out some dark navy- almost black jeans, Mercury shrugs.

“Alright, a shrug is the best we’ve got so far,” Emerald threw the jeans onto the bed.

Emerald shuffled through some tops, showing them to Mercury, then putting them back after he denied them.

Emerald’s face lit up, a huge smile growing on her face.

Mercury knew this meant trouble.

“What is it?” Mercury asked.

Emerald brought out a dark black sweater, the only parts that weren’t black were the the grey neck and arm holes.

Mercury bought that about a year ago. He liked it when he bought it, but once he put it on, he felt like he couldn’t pull it off.

“No,” Mercury told his friend.

“Mercury you wore this once. You looked so sweet in it. It’s light, that way you won’t burn up in it in the hot summer weather. C’mon, Yang will love it,” Emerald pleaded.

Mercury rolled his eyes, bug felt his cheeks flush pink. He looked away from his friend keeping his arms crossed.

“That means yes,” Emerald laughed, putting the sweater with the jeans.

With the top and bottom, Emerald made an outfit. She found an undershirt for Mercury to wear with the fairly thin sweater. She also found some combat boots Mercury could put over his prosthetics. She threw the outfit at him as he put his second prosthetic on, “Get dressed,” she demanded in a joking manner.

Mercury rolled his eyes for about the millionth time that day, getting up and heading to his bathroom to change.

When he returned, Emerald beamed, proud of her creation displayed on Mercury, “You look great. You just need to fix your hair,” Emerald told him.

“I’ve got it, Em. It was nice of you to show up even though I didn’t invite you at all,” He jokingly told her.

“You never invite me. That’s why I just show up. I knew you’d need my help anyway. You might’ve just talked yourself out of the date if I left you here alone.”

Mercury didn’t deny it. He quite possibly would have, if left on his own, cancelled the date with Yang out of fear. He really liked Yang, and didn’t want to screw it up by… well, being Mercury.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he told Emerald, avoiding the subject.

Therefore, Emerald changed it, “What time does your Dad come home?” Changed it to the worst possible thing she could’ve changed it to. “Eleven. The fair closes at ten so I should be good. How’s Sage?” Mercury quickly diverts the conversation.

Emerald became flustered at the sudden mention of her new boyfriend, and as Mercury fixed his hair, she talked about Sage. However, Mercury only half listened, concerned as to what Yang would think about his hair.

 

-

 

Mercury stood outside the movie theatre. His hands were sweaty from nervousness as he waited for Yang to come. Had he texted her the wrong address? He checked his phone just to make sure- Nope, right address.Had she stood him up? No, Yang wouldn’t do that. Would she? He didn’t know her that well. Maybe she didn’t like him as much as he liked her. The thought of it made him upset. Mercury took a long, deep breath. She was late. Only by a few minutes, but that was enough to make Mercury worry.

Just then, a yellow truck pulled into the movie theatre parking lot and stopped in front of the theatre. Mercury’s heart jumped as he looked toward the truck.

The door creaked open as the blonde hair girl he hoped to come out of the truck did.

He smiled and walked toward her, smiling, “Hey, Blondie,” he smirked as Yang turned around.

“Hey, Mercury,” Yang smiled. She had a little more makeup on than usual, highlighting Yang’s best facial features, especially her lilac eyes. Her hair looked straighter than usual, but still very wavy- as if someone tried to straighten it, but the hair itself wouldn’t cooperate. Then Mercury saw Yang’s dress. The dress seemed like it was made for her. To accompany the beautiful yellow dress, she had a small white handbag.

“You look absolutely stunning,” Mercury told her in awe.

“You look amazing too,” Yang blushed. She could smell the cologne on him. The sweater seemed made for Mercury, perfectly fitting his aesthetic. His hair was fixed perfectly, making Yang smile. The combat boots matched perfectly with the outfit, bringing it all together.

Mercury grabbed Yang’s hand gently, and smiled at her, “Well, what do you want to see?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh sorry for a lack of updates. I was on vacation and this was like the last thing I thought about. I know this is pretty much a short filler chapter, but I hope you enjoyed!! Be ready for fluff next chapter :) (ps I did most of this chapter on my phone in the car, so excuse any errors in grammar/ spelling)


	7. Chapter 7

** Four Months Ago **

Yang always had fun when she and her friends hung out at Jaune’s House. Gathering with people like Jaune, Pyrrha, Sage, Neptune, Scarlet, Weiss, Ruby, Sun, Blake and even her sister’s friend Oscar made her feel at home. She enjoyed everyone’s company. But there was one person Yang could live without- Blake’s boyfriend Adam. She couldn’t stand him. She told Blake time and time again that she needed to break up with the guy who gave her bruises and cuts all over her face and arms, but Blake never listened. Blake and Adam had been dating for almost a year now, and it seemed as if he was at every single party or get together. All this guy caused was trouble.It hurt Yang to see her friend date such a terrible person. Blake deserved so much better than Adam, but Blake didn’t want to hear what anyone had to say about Adam.

Yang was jolted out of her thought process as she heard Pyrrha saying, “Well, Oscar. Kiss her!”

Yang looked over to Oscar, sitting next to her sister Ruby. The bottle in the middle of the circle everyone was sitting in pointing to Ruby. The group has had some alcohol. Yang chose not to drink that night, although she was deemed the “party animal” of the group, she decided to set a better example for her younger sister. To add to that, the night felt… odd. She felt as if… tonight would be a lot more memorable than she was anticipating, and not in a good way. She couldn’t place her finger on why, but she knew it was. Maybe it was because Blake brought her creepy awful boyfriend Adam- again. No one liked Adam. Absolutely no one, yet Blake still brought “the man she loved.”

After the most innocent and pure kiss between Oscar and Ruby, the room awed, smiling at the cuteness of the two youngest in the friend group. Next to Oscar sat Blake, meaning it was her turn to spin the bottle. Adam did everything in his power to try to convince Blake not to play that night. He didn’t want her playing the game. If Adam didn’t want something, he would do everything in his power to prevent it from happening. Adam was quite controlling, not a good quality in… well anything. However, Blake just wouldn’t have it that night. She looked to Adam as he glared at her, sipping his-at least- seventh beer that night. Not breaking eye contact, Blake spun the bottle. Everyone grew quiet, knowing this would not end well. The bottle seemed to spin forever before eventually landing on Sun. It was no secret that Sun had a crush on Blake, but he always kept his distance, respecting Blake’s and Adam’s boundaries, no matter how strict. Even if Sun did think he could treat Blake better than Adam was treating her, he wouldn’t say anything. In his mind, Adam was who Blake wanted- so he had to respect that.

“Blake, if you don’t wanna do this, I completely understand,” Sun stated, although giving a small smirk in Adam’s direction. 

“Yeah, Blake,” Adam interjected, glaring heavily at Sun. “You don’t have to do this,” his voice grew more and more aggressive. He finished his beer and took a shot of… something.

“No, it’s fine, Adam. It’s just a game,” Blake told him, moving over to Sun, giving him a smile. Blake had a few drinks that night and was obviously a little tipsy. She approached Sun with a slight tint in her cheeks, and kissed him. It wasn’t long before it was interjected by a booming, “ENOUGH!”

Everyone turned to Adam, downing another shot. He broke the shot glass that was previously in his hand. 

“Adam, that was mine,” Jaune stands up and says sternly.

“And I don’t care,” Adam slurs, the alcohol he’s consumed throughout the night obviously kicking in. “You,” he points to Blake, “we’re leaving.”

“No, we’re not,” Blake told him.

He stumbles over to Blake, and smacks her so hard a pop is heard throughout the room, “I said, we’re leaving, Blake.”

Sun and Yang both stood up defensively.

“What the hell, Adam?!” Sun mad his way closer to Adam, as if challenging him.

Adam pushed Sun back. Sun lost his balance, but regained it quickly. 

“Sun, stop,” Blake murmured, clasping her face. Blood drips from the side of her mouth- on the side of her face where Adam slapped her. 

“I’ll go home,” she whispered to Adam.

“Good choice,” Adam grunted.

Yang couldn’t let Adam or Blake drive- Blake was tipsy, but Adam was completely was completely wasted. Yang couldn’t let him know that either. He’d hurt someone, even over something as small as not being able to drive his own car.

“You know, I’m not feeling too great either. Could I ride with you two?” Yang asked.

Adam gave her a dazed look, “Whatever.”

“Yang, you don’t have to…” Blake looked at Yang and wiped blood from her mouth- unable to say another word. She looked as though she was going to say something else, but didn’t say a word.

At that point, Adam simply walked out. Yang trailed behind him as Blake got behind her, almost using Yang as a shield. They made their way to Adam’s car across the street. He opened the passengers side door and practically pushed Blake into the car. Yang went over to the drivers side, trying to get into the car.

“What are you doing?” Adam spat, looking at Yang in a menacing manner.

“You’re in no condition to drive,” She told him.

“You don’t own this car,” Adam got in her face. She could smell the alcohol in his breath. 

Adam pushed her to the side. Yang fell onto the cement, hurting her left side. 

“Get in the back,” Adam slurred. He nearly tripped, and stumbled even getting into the car itself. She got up and reached for the handle. Yang’s side hurt- it was at least bruised. Yang slowly got into the car. She had barely gotten in before Adam stormed off- onto the road. This caused her to propel to the opposite side of the car. She was now behind the passenger’s seat- behind Blake, rather than Adam. Almost immediately, Yang buckled her seat-belt.

To say Adam drove badly would be an understatement. He swerved from lane to lane without any consideration for other vehicles on the road. Blake yelled, “Adam, watch out!” more times than Yang could tell. There wasn’t a point where Adam wasn’t moving the steering wheel in one direction or the other. He was speeding, definitely speeding. At the very least, he was doing twenty over- and that was being considerate. For the most part, Adam ignored any and all road signs. He zoomed past red lights and stop signs. He gave no regard for cars he was supposed to be yielding to. All Yang could do in that moment was try to relax. She knew there was nothing she could do to stop Adam from his crazy and reckless driving. He was going to, at least, get the three of them hurt. There’s no telling what else would happen tonight. She could only hope that they would get to Blake’s house as soon as possible, allowing her and Blake a place to sleep for the night.

Yang rolled down the window. Although Adam was driving terribly, the wind felt amazing. The wind felt great on her face- almost exhilarating, but Yang wanted to feel even freer. She wanted to feel as though she wasn’t in my this predicament- as if she were in another place. Mayne in a meadow, maybe at sea, maybe watching a sunset. Anywhere from here would be absolutely perfect. She stretched my arm out the car window, feeling the wind on it as Adam swerved from one way to another. For a moment, it almost felt as if she were in another place- but just in that moment.

Blake screamed. Everything went black. Yang felt a sharp, distinct pain in her arm. Then, she felt nothing.

The first time Yang woke up she was still in the car. Blake and Adam had both passed out. Foliage covered the car like nothing else. It was everywhere. It pierced through the glass, it went through the roof, and it was even in Yang’s face. Sirens blared and blue and red lights flashed as police cars and ambulances came to their rescue. But Yang couldn’t take my mind off of the sharp pain in her arm. She slowly used the small amount of energy she had to turn her head to the right, trying to find out what happened. 

All I saw was blood and wood. Then all went black again.

The next thing Yang saw was people surrounding her. People about her age and older, they all seemed to be dressed in medical uniforms of some kind. They were all saying so many things, she could barely comprehend it. She saw a light above her, and then it passed, then another, then it passed and another, then another. Yang couldn’t tell if she was the one moving or the lights. Some sort of mask was on her face. From the noises it made, she assumed it was used to help her breathe. A lady with slight wrinkles and blue eyes told her something like “stay with us,” but everything just went black again. 

Yang woke up once more, all she saw was her dad talking to a doctor. She couldn’t really hear what they were talking about, but her dad seemed stressed. He brought his hands to his head multiple times and seemed to be pulling his hair out. Taiyang turned toward Yang and saw her eyes were slightly open. He dashed to her side and grasped her left hand.

“Yang?” She heard.

“D-Dad?” she uttered.

“Shhh, don’t waste your energy talking. You’ve got a huge procedure soon.” Taiyang starts stroking her forehead, trying to lull Yang to sleep.

Yang was too tired to stay awake after that, and all went black again.

When Yang woke back up, she was in a hospital room, and she knew it. She began to regain consciousness and awareness of where she was. On one side of the room, she saw a crying Ruby sat near the window. Her father stood behind her sister, trying to comfort her in any way he could. Everything in Yang’s body hurt- and she meant everything. Her head hurt, her feet hurt, her legs hurt, her torso hurt, her arms… well, one hurt. She couldn’t feel the one to her right. In fact, the top part hurt, then it got to a point where it just burnt. She let out a small groan, her father and sister turned to her. Yang shuffled a little bit and sighed.

“Yang? Are you awake?” Ruby asked, barely over a whisper. She could tell Ruby had tears in her eyes and had been crying for a while.

“Yeah, I’m awake,” she managed to get out. 

Taiyang and Ruby dashed to Yangs side and gently hugged her limp body, “You’ve been out for three days, Yang.” Ruby told her.

“It’s been three days since the accident?” Yang asked.

“Well, actually, nearly four,” Taiyang trailed.

The three sat in silence, Yang could tell something was wrong, there was something her family wasn’t telling her, “What happened to the others? Blake? Is she okay?”

“She had a few broken ribs. Adam broke his entire right leg and arm. He also got a DUI on his record.” Ruby told her sister.

“Sweetie,” Taiyang sat on the bed and looked at his daughter, hurt in his eyes, “During the wreck, your arm smashed into a tree… the doctors told us it shattered like glass… Well… It… It severed on impact.”

Ruby then slowly moved back from Yang’s right side. Slowly, Yang turned her head. Where her arm once was, left nothing but a small stub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo sorry I haven't updated in actual months, if anyone's still reading this. I really want to continue this fanfiction and see it through to the end. Much love to all of you, and here's to hoping I actually continue to update :) -megs


End file.
